Mock Minister Who Ripped Off Bridesmaids Busted: Police

YARMOUTH, MA – A man accused of posing as a minister in order to steal from the bridesmaids at a Cape Cod wedding is in custody in Rhode Island, police said. Police issued a warrant for the arrest of 39-year-old James Stern, of Portsmouth, RI, after a woman told police her bridesmaids' credit cards had been stolen from a locked room at her wedding in South Yarmouth Sept. 15.

The woman told police a nondenominational minister named James Stern officiated the wedding. Police said Stern was not a licensed officiant in Massachusetts, which rendered the wedding invalid.

Stern has a lengthy criminal record in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut for crimes such as identity fraud and credit card fraud, as well as burglary, police said. Yarmouth police will charge him with larceny of $1,200 by false pretense and impersonating a public official (Justice of the Peace) and said they may seek additional charges.

Stern is currently incarcerated in Rhode Island pending an appearance in 4th Division District Court in Wakefield Oct. 31. Yarmouth police will seek to have him arraigned in Barnstable District Court in the future.

Previously: Fake Minister Stole Bridesmaids' Credit Cards On Cape Cod: Police

Image via Yarmouth Police Department